A Fool's Fairytale
by Sora no Kioku
Summary: Having no memories of his past, Sora is forced to work for his Master, pleasing his customers. It's only after a certain silver-haired male comes along does everything change for the better.


_AC: I had actually created this story a bit ago and it was a Christmas present for my friend. (Now my girlfriend. _ _) I had thought that I had put this up, but apparently I hadn't put it up anywhere. XD_

Shouts filled the air as feet pounded down the lonely hallway. Orders were barked out constantly, all of which consisted of 'find him' and 'bring him back'. Panicked breaths escaped from bruised lips, echoing down the otherwise quiet hallways. The rug burns on his knees succeeded their job of showing how many times he had fallen during his panicked attempt. He knew he had tried this so many times. He knew it. Yet, he was still determined to escape from his prison. It wasn't like he had wanted to be here at all. That definitely wasn't the case. If he had a choice, he would've been out of there by now. Unfortunately, he wasn't given such an opportunity, unlike the many others who worked here. It seemed that every month, he would make another desperate attempt to escape, even if every one of them were futile. This time was different. He knew very well that about half of the guards were away and drinking. The others never cared about anyone other than himself. But best of all, Master was in his quarters, sleeping. He had thought that his plan was fool proof. This certainly proved him wrong... Oh so terribly wrong.

He skidded to a stop when he came to a dead end, looking this way and that for some type of door to dive in to only to find none. Only a small window was there for a hasty escape, though he knew it would be suicide to escape from there. The small brunette turned quickly when he heard shouts nearing where he was, pressing his back against the cool window. His breath caught in his throat as the guards ran past the hallway only to come back and start to slowly walk towards him. He shifted slightly, holding onto his oversized grey T-shirt lightly. He glanced back at the window as the guards tried to coax him towards them. He moved forward slowly, looking down in defeat.

When he knew he was only a few feet from the men, he turned on his heel and sprinted to the window, jumping and hurling himself through it. He closed his eyes tightly as he heard shouts and the sound of breaking glass, feeling the stinging cuts riddle his tanned skin. He could feel himself hurling down towards the waves below, hearing them beat against the rocky cliffs the structure was built upon. But before he could get too far, he could feel a hand grasp his wrist. He winced as his weight tugged against the force pulling him upwards slowly, causing him to stop at a jerking, sudden motion. He was lifted back through the window he had jumped out of.

He was expecting to be taken into custody, but was taken by surprise when he was suddenly crashed into the wall just when he was pulled through the broken window. He let out a shout and fell to the floor on his side, groaning in pain as he curled up only slightly. He soon found his wrist being tugged away. He winced when one of the men's hands brushed against one of the cuts. "Number 24. Looks like he tried to escape again. Take him to his room. Make sure to lock it this time," he heard the man say. He felt himself being lifted, but didn't fight back. He knew very well that it was a lost cause.

~*~*~

Lines... Oh, how he hated them. It always meant that someone was always waiting outside the door to get 'their turn' with the brunette. He wished that he didn't have to do something like this. Nobody ever complained about how small he was or how young he seemed to be. In fact, everybody seemed to just love it. They were always asking for more time than what they were allowed; always asking for the same person. His name was always repeated, always screamed, whispered, ground out, panted, you name it. He was told by many that they had loved him. He knew very well that this was true. He did not know them.

They just used him.

They used him constantly. They didn't love his personality; they loved his body. They loved how flexible the tanned boy was. They loved how soft his skin was underneath their hands and fingertips. They loved the shade of blue in his eyes. They loved the round face. They loved everything about him, but they didn't love him as a person.

_The word is thrown around way too often. 'Love'. It doesn't exist. It's merely a fool's fairytale._

He had told himself that too many times to count. He had drilled it into his brain, made himself believe that it was true. He had been repeating those same words over and over in his head for as long as he could remember. He had made sure that he would believe no different - and it worked. He no longer thought that 'love' existed. He didn't even dare to utter the word. He tried his best to ignore the word whenever he could, but it seemed that each and each reoccurring 'customer' continued to say it, as if they wanted to pound it into his head. He knew better than that.

The brunette lifted his head when he heard a knock on the door, turning his head towards it. He hesitated before he stood up from his desk, gently placing his pencil down. A customer...? This early in the day...? He heard another knock on the door and cautiously wandered towards it, wearing nothing but a baggy grey shirt with a pair of briefs underneath. He carefully opened the door and peered out to find nobody there. He ignored the cuts that riddled his body as he stepped out and into the hallway, glancing around carefully. Nobody...

He hummed lightly and retreated back to his room, but paused when he heard a crumpling of paper. He looked down and lifted his bare foot to see a small envelope with his name on it. That was odd... Nobody ever left him something like this. He reached down and grabbed the small envelope before straitening and glancing around once more. He shook his head with a frown and closed the door behind him, walking over to his desk. He tossed the small envelope on the desk, sitting down on the chair as he peered at the small piece of paper.

He wouldn't open it. He would definitely not open it. If it were one of those 'secret admirers', he knew that this would only fuel the fire if he had read it. He grabbed the envelope and crumpled into a ball, ready to throw it in the trash bin right next to his desk, but of course, curiosity just had to get the better of it. After a few moments of hesitation and debating, the boy finally unfolded the envelope and pulled out the folded paper from within, lying it flat against the desk.

_Will you reserve the time 7 PM for me? I will let you know it's me by bringing a blue flower called an anemone. I sketched a picture below this note. I promise I will not tell you things you most likely don't want to hear. I merely want to talk. No need to dress up all fancy._

The brunette hesitated as he looked down at the note, examining the picture. He soon frowned and crumpled up the note, throwing it in the trash bin. "Nobody ever wants to 'just talk', you idiot," he muttered under his breath as he stood up quickly and walked over to his bed, collapsing onto it and throwing the covers over him. He closed his eyes and intended on to get some shut eye, both thankful and surprised at the same time when he had actually fallen asleep.

~*~*~

The sounds of the every night part echoed through the back hallways and into each one of the rooms where they all worked. It was never a give and take situation; it was always a give with no take. For him, there was never any money involved. That was the way it had always been. He didn't have any bills to pay, no food he needed to by, no funding he needed to keep up on. He had lived here for years ever since he had woken up at the infirmary, half dead. It was only because of that. That one night had changed his life for the worse and there was no way he could turn back. The memory was still very fresh in his mind, even now.

He frowned deeply and shook his head. He couldn't think about that. Not right now. It was almost time for him to come. Whoever he was... He sighed as he changed into a pair of baggy sweats and an oversized T-shirt, sitting cross-legged on his bed soon after with a pencil and notebook laid out in front of him. He soon began to sketch people from his memories, something he found he liked to do often. However, he couldn't get too far on drawing the beautiful long-haired brunette he had known from the infirmary before she was murdered. The only reason he couldn't continue was due to the knock on his door. He turned his head to look at it, but found that it was already open and a silver-haired male was walking inside. The brunette tensed when he saw the male reach into his jacket, thinking that this was another attempt at a burglary.

Th silvernette chuckled as he looked at the boy sitting on the bed. "Don't worry, Sora. It's nothing bad," he said with a small smile as he pulled out the same blue flower the note had mentioned. The brunette relaxed at this, but still seemed rather nervous. The older one o the two walked over to the bed and sat down, handing the flower to Sora. "I'm only here to talk. No need to please me," he said.

Sora hesitantly took the flower from Riku, turning it over in his hands as he examined it. "Talk? Haven't done that in a while."

"Well, maybe now's the time. Now let's just talk, shall we?"

"Let's start with names. You know mine, but I don't know yours."

"... It's Riku..."

"You seem sad."

"It's nothing..."

~*~*~

Over the course of the next few months, Riku came on a weekly schedule, always at the same time. But after a few weeks of that, he began to come even more frequent than that until it was every day at 6. Each and every day, Sora would sit on his bed or at his desk, waiting for the silver-haired beauty. The two found that they didn't have all that much in common, but they never fought unless it was small arguments that never really meant anything at all. But still, that didn't stop Sora from doing his job at the bar, no matter how many times Riku had brought up the subject that he could buy Sora from his Master.

They usually talked about the same things. Riku would always come in and tell Sora was had happened that day, what was going on outside the small room Sora was confined to, and so on. Sora would always listen with an extreme fascination and was more than willing to look at pictures when Riku brought them. But today... Today was rather different from their usual schedule.

As always, Riku came right on time and Sora greeted him right when he walked through the door. He then walked over to join Sora on the bed, crossing his legs just as the brunette had. "Well, I guess it's safe to say that we're friends, Sora," he said with an amused smile as he reached over to tap the brunette on the nose, who frowned at the small gesture.

"Well, I'm glad I finally have someone to call a 'friend', but don't hit my nose," the brunette replied as he pushed Riku's hand away only to get a chuckle in response. "I don't think you can stay long today... I noticed that there's a lot of people at the bar today when you opened the door. A lot of them like to come to me so that I can... do my job."

Riku let out a small sigh and shook his head, reaching over to pat Sora on the head; something he had found he had done a lot. As long as it was physical contact of the innocent nature, Sora seemed alright with it and never complained. But that only fed the fire... "You aren't even here on your own will. You're 18- I mean, 19 now, for crying out loud. You can just ditch this place and go somewhe-"

"I have nowhere to go, Riku. I told you this before. I don't remember anybody or anything."

"But _I_ do."

The brunette hesitated as he looked at Riku. Something was... different, to say the least... Something was off. There was some type of emotion in the other's eyes. Whatever it was, he couldn't figure it out. He frowned and shook his head slowly. "I don't. I don't remember who I was, where I lived, who my family was, if I had any friends, nothing," he said softly. "All I remember is waking up and Aerith taking care of me. Then Master threw me in here and told me to call him 'Master' with no objections."

He tensed when he suddenly felt himself in the other's arms and then pulled into his lap. Well, this certainly was different... Still, it felt comforting and safe. "C'mon, Sora," he heard, "I know you're stronger than that. You can get away from here if you wanted to. You don't want to stay here, pleasing people constantly, do you?"

"Well, no I don't, but I don't have a choice, either. He won't let me leave. I try to escape and they just catch me and throw me back here."

"Then let me help you."

"No. He'll kill you if he finds out-" He let out a soft gasp when he was suddenly pinned to the bed with the silvernette hovering over him. He wriggled in an attempt to get free, but the other just responded by pushing his knees against the sides of Sora's hips to get him to stay still.

"I don't care if he kills me. It's my own decision. I know him. He's greedy for money. If I pay him the right price, I can set you free. You won't have to please anybody anymore."

Sora hesitated as he looked up at his only friend, a soft frown coming over his features. He slowly shook his head as he tugged at the hands holding his wrists above his head. "That's a lot of money, Riku... I've been here for years. Master even said that the people 'love' me. He says I'm the best of his business. He's not gonna let me go..." he replied softly, looking away from the one hovering over him.

"You can't just give up like this!"

The brunette snapped his head back around to look up at the other, feeling rather small compared to the older male. He was about to retort, but fell silent when he saw more confusing and previously unseen emotions in the azure eyes.

"I know you, Sora. I _know_ you're not one to give up. You're competitive and always full of life. Sure, you get depressed sometimes, but everybody does. You're not usually like this... The Sora I know would jump at the chance to escape, no matter the odds."

The room fell dead silent after Riku's rant. The silvernette had released the other's hands, but the brunette did nothing to push his friend away from him. "... You speak of me as if you've known me before now."

"That's because I _have_. We always challenged each other. We were always competitive. You were the reason I kept going on. Every day I spent with you was like I was in a completely different world all together. Even Kairi knew how close we were and helped us so that we didn't have to be apart. Then you disappeared when you were heading home from a sleepover... You were mad at me. I thought you ran away. But you're here. And you're not the Sora I remember."

"Then why do you keep coming if I'm not who you remember?"

"Because... Because I love you, okay?!" Riku pretty much shouted, though he fell silent after his confession. He pulled away from the brunette and crawled off of him, sitting a few feet away with his legs crossed. "There. I said it. I love you."

The bed shifted slightly as Sora sat up slowly and crossed his own legs, looking away. "No, you don't... You don't love me. Nobody does. There's no such thing as 'love'. It's just a word with no meaning. It's thrown around way too much to have a meaning," he said softly, keeping his gaze from Riku. He tensed when he felt his chin being cupped and then lifted gently so that he faced the other.

"You don't remember... do you...?"

"I lost my memory. Take the hint already, Riku."

"You're still you. You look the same, you talk the same. You may act a bit different, but I can tell you're only lost. You're trying to find who you really are, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. You're wrong completely. I'm not lost and you don't love me."

"I can prove it to you."

Next thing he knew, a pair of lips were pressed against his own in a gentle way. While azure eyes closed, ocean blue ones widened at the feeling. It wasn't like any of the rough kisses he had been given. It wasn't like that at all. Without even thinking about it, his eyes slid closed and his arms wrapped around the other's waist loosely. He felt like he had done this before, but in a different setting...

The kiss was soon deepened without either of them asking for permission, acting as if they already knew when and how to. Still, the kiss remained completely different than any other he had received. It stayed gentle and rather slow with no hints of lust in it. It felt so new and yet he could remember it at the same time. He could remember the exact feeling and even the same minty taste. He unfolded his legs when he felt a hand sliding down his side and his body being tilted backwards until his back met with the bed and the other was hovering over him once again.

That's when he heard a female voice call both his and Riku's name and then say it was dinner time. He pulled away and opened his eyes, turning his head towards the door. He pushed on Riku's chest so that the other would sit up, crawling off the bed afterwards. He walked cautiously towards the door and was about to open it when he heard Riku's voice.

"What? What's wrong?"

The brunette hesitated as he pulled his hand back. He hadn't heard it...? He looked over at the other with a confused expression. "You didn't hear it? There was a woman's voice... I recognize it," he said softly.

"I didn't hear anything... What did she say?"

"'Sora, Riku, time for dinner.'" He gave Riku a confused look when the other burst out laughing. He hesitated and cautiously walked over to the other male, sitting down on the bed once more and crossing his legs. "What? What's so funny?"

Riku's laughter died down to a chuckle and he shook his head. "Nothing. Just that it might be something from your memory is all. We were doing exactly that a few nights before you left and your mom called us down for dinner. You weren't too happy about it, but we still played video games after dinner," he replied with a small smile.

"Oh... So I guess you were right..."

"And do you believe me now when I say that I love you?"

"... Yes..."

"Good. You believed me a few years ago, too."

"I... need your help."

"With?"

"I want to remember. About my home, my family, my friends. About us..."

~*~*~

"You stupid, pathetic piece of fucking shit!"

Sora let out a painful yell as his side slammed into the wall for what seemed the tenth time this night. He wanted nothing more than to run out and try to escape again. But it seemed like that was not on option, definitely not tonight. There were too many guards on duty, too many people to get him caught. He would just have to suck it up and take the beating. He knew very well that he would have to remain completely silent and not say a word. If he did speak, it would only anger Master more.

"The customers are complaining about you now! I don't know what the hell went wrong! You better start straitening up and doing your job, Number 24!"

The brunette merely let out a grunt as his stomach was punched, holding his stomach and crouching down in response to the pain that surged through his body. _Just a few more minutes... Only a few more minutes..._

~*~*~

When Riku had come in not even an hour later, Sora didn't move from his spot on the bed, facing the wall. His arm was tucked underneath his head and his body was curled up in an attempt to rid the pain, but it didn't seem to work. There were a few blood spots on the floor, walls, and bed, though it was mostly on the bed due to the fact that it was there where he had bled the most. And damn, did it hurt... He shifted only slightly when he heard his name being said in a questioning manner, but didn't reply because his busted lip already hurt enough as it was. He could hear the 20-year-old's cautious footsteps nearing the bed he laid upon.

"Sora, what happened...? What's wrong?"

The bed shifted slightly as more weight was put on it, signaling that Riku had sat down on the bed near the brunette. He tensed at the soft touch on his back, wincing as Riku's fingers unknowingly traced over one of the lashes hidden beneath the shirt. The hand was soon drawn back as if the other knew that he was touching a rather fresh wound.

"He beat you again, didn't he?"

Sora slowly nodded.

"Let me see. I'll get you fixed up."

The brunette hesitated before he slowly sat up, wincing as the pain shot through his body at the small action. He then turned to face Riku, who frowned deeply at the sight of the bruises and cuts that riddled the tanned skin. He didn't object when the silvernette told him to remove his shirt, setting it aside to reveal even more cuts and bruises, though the deepest of those cuts were on his back. He sighed at Riku's questioning gaze and stopped him before he could say anything. "A whip. He... used a whip. Punished me," he said softly. "He was really angry this time..."

Riku didn't reply and just took out the first aid kit he had hidden underneath Sora's bed, going straight to cleaning the wounds. He couldn't count how many times he had been stuck doing this, but this time... it was much worse. He could see just how weak the other was. He cleaned the other's wounds in silence, debating what he would do about the situation.

After a few minutes, all the wounds were cleaned and bandaged and the first aid kit was stowed away underneath the bed once more. Still, Sora didn't look too good... He constantly leaned against the nearest object, whether it was the 20-year-old, the wall, or the bed post. He didn't even look like he had the strength to talk without dozing off. It was this very reason that Riku had decided what he was going to do.

Without much of a warning, he scooped the tired 19-year-old into his arms and walked towards the door. "What are you doing?" he heard the boy ask.

"Getting you away from here. If he wants money, he'll get money. You're not staying here. At all. I won't allow it."

A moment of silence passed as Riku carried Sora to the bedroom door and opened it with little trouble. He continued to walk through the bar, ignoring the people who were protesting against Sora leaving.

"Riku...?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you..."

He smiled lightly as he glanced down at the brunette in his arms. "You don't have to thank me, Sora," he said softly as he rubbed the other's arm lightly. His mile faded and he continued to walk through the bar, carefully weaving through the crowd. He ended up paying the 'Master' on the way out in order to get Sora out of there for good, though he didn't miss the look on the large man's face when he showed him a lovely view of his middle finger. He stopped at the threat to kill him, looking back at the man. "My father runs a highly regarded league of assassins who also work for me. You go after me or even touch Sora again and my father and I will not hesitate to send my top fourteen assassins after you. If you want to live, I suggest that you drop the subject completely and forget about Sora," he threatened.

"Tch. Yeah right. You're not the son of Sephiroth Morikawa. It's only a bluff."

Riku laughed lightly before he shifted Sora a bit. "Hey, guys! We have a nonbeliever on our hands!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the quiet streets shadowed by the night. Within moments, thirteen people cloaked in black were at his sides, each one holding one or two hand-made weapons. "Consider yourself lucky. You get to see the whole Organization XIII without having to die for it. See ya," he said with a smirk before he turned on his heel and began walking. "Roxas, come with me. I have a feeling you'll want to help your brother."

~*~*~

Riku stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him, twirling the keys around his finger. It had been three months since he had taken Sora away and he certainly seemed a lot happier than before. He hummed in thought as he walked up the paved path and to the front of the large house, walking inside. He tried his best to be quiet as he took off his shoes and walked through the house silently. He climbed up the stairs and walked down the hallway until he came to the door he found that he went through rather often.

He carefully opened it and stepped inside the room filled with white furniture, closing the door silently behind him. He walked across the room to the large bed in the middle, crawling over it to the lump underneath the covers. "Sora, I'm back finally," he said as he grabbed the top of the covers. He let out a shout when he felt something collide into his back, causing him to sprawl out across the bed.

"Welcome home, Riku," he heard.

He chuckled as he recognized the voice, standing up on his hands and knees and then rolling over to knock the brunette off of him. He moved quickly to straddle the other and pin him to the bed with his hands on both sides of the other's face. "I should've seen that coming. Nice trick you got there, Sora," he said with another chuckle before he leaned down to capture the other's lips in his own. He pulled away few seconds later, much to the disappointment of Sora. "Don't worry. I'll let you have all you want tonight."

"Promise?" The brunette lifted his hand with his pinky finger extended. He smiled as he felt another pinky finger link with his.

"Pinky promise."

"Then I like the sound of that."


End file.
